There's A New Shark In The Tank

Unicorn company CarDekho Group's Amit Jain is now on your TV screens as a new judge in the business reality television series. He talks business, cars and more with us

- Niraj Kakade

There's a new Shark in town. Fresh off Shark Tank India's successful season-one run and ahead of season two, it was announced that Bharat Pe's Ashneer Grover will be making way for CarDekho group's (formerly Girnarsoft) Amit Jain.

The head honcho of publications such as CarDekho, ZigWheels and PowerDrift, Jain is a titan in the auto industry, with his company gaining unicorn status back in 2021. Hailing from a conservative household and humble beginnings - his father worked in a bank and grandfather, as a government servant - Jain now sits atop a net worth of Rs 2,900 crore. From having a family-owned ice cream parlour to pivoting to a gemstone business, entrepreneurship has always been a part of Jain's upbringing and blood. We sat down with the new shark to understand his love for cars and to get a peek inside the popular competitive show's much-awaited second season. Excerpts:

What made you get into the automotive sector?

I've always liked cars and dreamed about building a billion-dollar company. So, back in 2008, we decided to visit the Auto Expo. While I liked what I saw, there wasn't much information about the showcased products online. This is where the idea for CarDekho was born. We started by collecting brochures of different cars and then built a site. At the time, we had multiple websites, but this one became more popular than the others in no time.

There are around 100 unicorns in India, but only 18 of them have made profit. Why is that?